It states: "Ed Balls' new strategy of accepting Coalition spending cuts as a fait accompli risks making it look like Labour has wholly accepted George Osborne's fiscal strategy - demoralising Labour Party supporters who are fighting against them while allowing the Conservatives to dictate the terms of the economic debate."

The report claims it would be "no surprise" if the Chancellor announced in 2014 that his plan to eliminate the structural deficit was being pushed back to 2020.

Labour has a "clear duty" to the British public to highlight the "manifest flaws" of the Government's economic management, it adds.

Economist Howard Reed, author of the report, said: "Given the trouble that the Coalition's deficit reduction programme has run into, it would seem ludicrous for Labour to jump on board the austerity bandwagon at just the point it seems to be coming off the rails."